HTTPSWWW - Viss.aeuserfilesvissmvcdocuments05 CommunityVISS20Newsletter20Issue201 PDF
HTTPSWWW - Viss.aeuserfilesvissmvcdocuments05 CommunityVISS20Newsletter20Issue201 PDF
HTTPSWWW - Viss.aeuserfilesvissmvcdocuments05 CommunityVISS20Newsletter20Issue201 PDF
NEWSLETTER
Pleased to welcome
VISS students and
families to the new
academic year
We trust that you enjoyed your summer vacation, and for those returning students, we
are delighted to have you back with us. For those of you who are new to the United Arab
Emirates and Sharjah, welcome to this incredible part of the world and we trust that you
settle well into your new school environment here with us at VISS.
It is with great delight that we relaunch a whole school newsletter with the aim of
increasing whole school unity and enhancing communication and parent engagement.
VISS Newsletter will be released in week 3, 6 & 9 of each term and will serve as a platform for
Ms Karey Goodall you, as parents, to receive pertinent information, celebrate success with us and continue
Executive Principal
to be actively involved in your child’s learning journey.
As we embark on a new school year, we wish all students a productive and positive journey ahead. I encourage all students to
set clear, challenging, and reasonable goals to improve both academically and personally this year - and in setting these targets,
be passionate, dedicated, and tenacious in achieving them. It is also just as important to maintain a sense of belonging and
connectedness to your school and the wider school community, and we look forward to seeing you all develop in this space as
well.
Thank you to all families who attended our first parent Forum for the year, with over 120 parents in attendance, it was a wonderful
opportunity to share with you our strategic initiatives for the year ahead and meet you all individually and learn more about your
children. Our Parent Forums will be held at the beginning of each Term, and we look forward to meeting with you all again next
Term. If you were unfortunately unable to attend, please find the presentation here.Parent Forum Term 1
PARENT WORKSHOPS
To further enable parents’ involvement and understanding of the quality programs we offer, we will be facilitating regular Parent
Workshops with a schedule to be developed and shared with the community in the next newsletter. Key members of our staff will
deliver these sessions along with guest speakers. Mr. Dan and Ms. Sarah invite interested parents to join them this Wednesday 21
September at 8-9am for a ‘Coffee and Conversation’.
...continued
NEWSLETTER 1
GOOD MORNING, SHARJAH
We were delighted to feature last week on the morning show which highlighted the exceptional programs and community
environment of our school. We are tremendously proud of all our students and being given the opportunity to share this with our
Emirate. Please find the link to the video provided by Sharjah TV, who commented that VISS is considered as the best school in
Sharjah with the highest of teaching practices. Please find the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-6476M6JoQ
AWARDS CEREMONY
Congratulations to all students who were recognised at our annual awards afternoon on Wednesday. As we celebrated their
outstanding academic, service and citizenship achievements, the Leadership Team shared how incredibly proud of the students
they are. Despite the conditions that the past few years have dealt them, the students have stood tall and strong and committed
to their passions and academic success. On behalf of our entire VISS community, we congratulate those who received these
prestigious awards and wish all a successful year ahead.
Again, on behalf of all schools in our wonderful Emirate – welcome OR welcome back! We look forward to working closely with
your child and you as we continue to form strong and long-lasting partnerships – ultimately leading to academic success that will
continue to have VISS recognised among the leading education providers globally.
Ms Karey Goodall
Best wishes to you and your children for the term ahead.
Executive Principal
NEWSLETTER 2
FROM THE PRIMARY SCHOOL & EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
O n behalf of all the staff, I would like to provide a warm welcome to all members of our school
community, particularly our new students and families who have joined VISS this year. I
couldn’t be prouder of the way our academic year has commenced, there is a strong sense of
calmness across the school as students have spent the first two weeks developing relationships,
learning routines and understanding their responsibilities as learners. This school climate will
ensure that we have the environment for effective teaching and learning.
The improvement works which took place over the summer has improved our facilities and we
look forward to further developments across the year. I want to acknowledge the commitment
and tireless efforts of our staff, to ensure that our classrooms and learning spaces were warm,
welcoming and engaging.
Mr Dan O’Reilly
Head of Primary School and ELC
NEW STAFF
T his academic year we welcome a number of new staff to the Primary Team. We also have developed a staffing profile with
greater shared leadership, which has seen some new leadership roles developed. Our new leaders and teachers are very much
looking forward to working closely with the VISS community to ensure every child achieves to their full potential.
Leadership
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2022/23 GOALS
S chools are very busy places and everyday thousands of decisions are made across our classrooms and offices. Therefore, it is
critically important that we have a strategic focus to ensure we remain persistent, focused and unrelenting on key priorities.
Our ultimate focus at VISS is to provide quality teaching and learning through community relationships, quality assurance and
differentiation and inclusion.
Across the Primary School there are four specific goals that we are aiming to achieve:
• Goal 1: We will increase the number of students having more than 12 months growth in Language acquisition
• Goal 2: We will reduce the number of students working below the expected level in Number and Algebra
• Goal 3: We will strengthen engagement and partnerships with the VISS community through increased parental involvement
and improved communication
• Goal 4: We will maximise the personal, social and emotional development of each student so they are safe, responsible and
innovative
...continued
NEWSLETTER 3
COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
I would like to extend an invitation to all interested parents to come along to meet for a coffee and conversation next Wednesday
21 September from 8am – 9am. The focus of this time will be to engage with you as parents and collaboratively work together to
explore opportunities around Parent Workshops for 2022/23.
I want you to know that we are committed to continuing to strive for excellence in the way we engage with our community and
this is another opportunity for this.
CO-CURRICULAR
W e are looking forward to the launch of our Co-Curricular Program in the coming weeks – this will ensure all students have
settled into school, the weather has cooled and our indoor courts have been fully renovated. Ms. Leisha, Ms. Orlagh and
Mr. James are currently surveying the students to learn from them about possible experiences they would like to have. We want
to utilise our outstanding facilities and inspiring staff, to spark new ideas and interests in our students and discover new passions.
A t VISS, we have high expectations and encourage all students and families to ‘Strive for 95.’ This would see students attending
at least 95% of the time and being absent only 8 days across the entire school year. A reminder the official start of the school
day is 8am and students arriving after this time will need to sign in and collect a late pass from the office.
It has been pleasing to see students showing such commitment to Home Reading already this year. Across the school, we have
the goal for every student to read each night and fill in their diary to achieve 200 nights of Home Reading. Reading for 20 minutes
for 200 nights, will see children read approximately two million words across the year.
SEQTA
A reminder to all our families that SEQTA is our School Management System and main platform for communication.
A parent webinar is being held on Monday 26 September to assist parents with sending a message, viewing
their child’s timetable or seeing events on the calendar.
SEESAW
O nce again, we will again be using Seesaw across the Primary School and ELC. Seesaw allows students to
demonstrate their learning and fosters opportunities to be creative and reflective through this digital tool.
Over the coming weeks, you will receive communication from your child’s teacher with the relevant log-in details
allowing you to view your child’s learning and provide feedback to them. In readiness, I encourage parents to
download the ‘Seesaw Family’ application to their mobile device.
If there is anything you need, please reach out to your child’s teacher or myself and we will be more than happy to work together.
Keep smiling, hug your child and tell them you love them!
Mr Dan O’Reilly
Head of Primary School and ELC
NEWSLETTER 4
FROM THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
O ur students have brought the school to life and the atmosphere in the secondary school is
full of energy and enthusiasm. We are just in week three of the year and already there are
several exciting things to share and celebrate.
I would like to talk about three words that are going to be the basis of everything we do this
year – communicate, collaborate and celebrate.
COMMUNICATE
We have begun the year with a lot of communication regarding students’ learning and
everything that they may need to get started for this year. This communication will be regularly
shared through SEQTA, emails and via our social media platform. If you have not been able to
Ms Sarah Santrampurwala access the information so far, please make sure that you contact the secondary school office at
Acting Head of Secondary School
secondaryschool@viss.ae and a staff member will be in touch to help you. Communication should not be one way, so I encourage
you to communicate with us through our regular channels as soon as you have any questions, concerns or positive feedback that
will help us improve and encourage us to continue doing what we do best.
COLLABORATE
I firmly believe that parents are friends and partners of the school as we have the same goal; students’ learning and wellbeing.
I am so happy and excited by the generosity of several parents who have already offered to be involved in school events and
support us through this year.
I am inviting you to contact me directly (santram.sarah@viss.ae) if you would like to be involved in school activities this year or
offer us any kind of support that will help us excel in what we do. We want to work with you as partners and invite you to be a part
of conversations so that we can listen, reflect and adapt to ensure that we continue to offer high quality learning experiences for
our students.
CELEBRATE
We want to celebrate students’ learning and their achievements in and out of the classroom. I am inviting you to engage in these
celebrations as much as you can when the opportunities arise. This week we were pleased to celebrate academic excellence and
community engagement of students from last year after a gap of 2 years. We also took the opportunity to recognize the honour
board awards from 2020 and 2021. Sometimes students are involved in different activities and competitions independently, we
want to hear about that and celebrate their success with you.
Ms Sarah Santrampurwala
Acting Head of Secondary School
NEWSLETTER 5
PARENTS´ INFORMATION NIGHT
V ISS Secondary School welcomed our parents to the Information Night on Wednesday 7 September, where the Senior Leadership
Team outlined our vision and goals for the year ahead, with a clear focus on experiential learning, restorative practices, student
mentorship and transparent family communication. We also celebrated the success of our Graduating Class of 2022 with an
inspiring speech from VISS Alumni and IB Graduate, Ammar Al-Falahy.
Directly after the presentation, parents were able to meet with our Middle Leaders. Our Faculty Heads, Directors and Programme
Coordinators discussed the various initiatives and programs on offer to enhance the learning of all students across the secondary
school, such as Grade 8 Service Learning, Grade 9 STEAM Program and Personal Project, Grade 10 Work Experience, Grade 11/12
Business Entrepreneurship and the robust Cocurricular Program beginning in Week 3. Our Grade Level Leaders discussed the
Wellbeing programs for each grade level, and several initiatives to support student engagement such as Action for Happiness,
Student Mentorship, Peer Mentorship and Student Leadership opportunities.
We thank all parents and members of our school community who attended the Parent Information Night and made this a successful
and important event on our annual school calendar. We look forward to building relationships with our parent community
throughout the year through events such as this.
Audience
Ammar Al-Falahy
presents
NEWSLETTER 6
ACTION FOR HAPPINESS
T his year VISS will be implementing a new initiative called Action for Happiness. It
is a global movement that attempts to create a happier, kinder world by giving
individuals the skills and knowledge they need to live happier, healthier and more
successful lives.
This is an exciting program that the whole VISS community can get involved in.
Each week we will post ideas of things people can do at school and at home to help
increase their happiness and wellbeing. These posts will come out on SEQTA messages
Mr Joe Ziegelbauer
Wellbeing and Enrichment Coordinator as well as the VISS social media pages.
Happy communities are created through sharing experiences with others. We will be sharing the actions of our students, teachers
and families through social media and want to add your happiness photos and videos to help spread wellbeing.
Information will come out soon on how to share this media with us and we look forward to building a strong, supportive and
successful VISS community.
Mr Joe Ziegelbauer
Wellbeing and Enrichment Coordinator
Mr Ryan Brown
speaks with parent Ms Chelsie Bulman presents Mr Iain Rowe speaks with parents
NEWSLETTER 7
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
It’s great to be back, seeing our students outside wearing the new sports uniform and being active again after a long hot summer.
Both Primary and Secondary classes are conducting practical lessons on our shaded outside courts due the renovations being
conducted in the Community Sports Centre and the Primary’s school’s multipurpose space. Over the coming weeks, Grade 3, 4 and
5 will begin swimming lessons as soon as the pool is back and operational.
Parents, please check your message on SEQTA Learn for further updates.
Just to reinforce, please make sure you child has the correct PE uniform, full water bottle and a positive attitude for each lesson. There
are a few exciting things happing in the next couple of months to stay tuned. Please follow @viss_uae_outoor_ed on Instagram for
all the latest news cross the schools sport, health and wellbeing initiatives.
Y es, Emirates International Schools Sports Association (EISSA) Sport is back starting this term. Trials have been conducted for
both Boys Basketball and Girls Netball. Competitions will be run on a fortnightly basis at other schools in the region with Under
10 & 12’s playing on Tuesdays and Under 14, 16 & 18’s on Wednesday evening after school from 3:30-5:45pm. Competition venues
will be finlaized in the coming days. If your child is selected in the team, they will require a permission note to be signed as they will
be traveling on school buses for their competitions.
S wimming is a rich part of our VISS culture, and we are looking forward to having students back in the pool when the Community
Sports Centre is open once again. Trails and squad will begin as soon as the pool door are open. For further information, please
contact the swimming team via the following email: swimacademy@viss.ae
T he Switzerland Ski Trip will take place in the first week of the December holidays. Students involved with the trip will be
heading to Verbier, a premier resort in the heart of Europe with a company with over 25 years’ experience, Les Elfes. For further
information, please contact Mr. Iain Rowe (rowe.iain.j@viss.ae )
S everal year levels across the school will be attending camps this
year which is very exciting. Forms and messages via SEQTA will be
sent out in the coming days. Please note that payments for all of these
Grade 4 students
DATES
22-23 February 2023
camps will be paid directly to the company, not through the school. We Grade 5 Students 5-6 October 2022
encourage all students to attend these amazing learning opportunities. Grade 7 Students 5-6 October 2022
IB ESS & BIO students 26-27 October 2022
T he school provides a space for the following companies to run extra paid activity sessions after school hours. These include:
NEWSLETTER 8
VISS MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY
The show goes on! The VISS Music and Performing Arts Academy
has been a hive of activity as it launches its programs in full
swing for the 2022-2023 academic year. While the pandemic
certainly impacted the activities and energy of the VISS Music
Academy, many of the programs continued through the
challenges. Individual music lessons continued (for a time online),
public performances of the VISS vocal group and rock bands
took place at Dubai Expo 2020, and a music makers concert
was held in the Main Theatre. This academic years promises to
Primary Musical
be bigger than ever with the reinstatement of many exciting
programs, such as the Primary Musical Production, regular music makers concerts, the continuation of the SPAA Performing Arts
Classes, and of course, the continuation of individual music lessons.
“Consider yourself a part of the family!” is the tagline of one of the catchiest numbers from this year’s Primary School Production,
Oliver, and it’s one that resonates with the VISS community. Ms. Hayley is busy preparing for what is sure to be a fun and dazzling
musical production about an orphan who finds himself a family when all seemed lost. Set to be performed towards the end of
this year, make sure you keep an eye on VISS notices to grab tickets before they sell out.
Individual Music lessons begin this week with, for the first time in many years,
voice (singing) lessons being offered as part of the program. In addition to the
new singing lessons, piano, violin, guitar, drums, and others will continue to be
Individual Music Lessons
taught. The beginning of the academic year is the best time to start learning, so
please contact Director of Music and Performing Arts, Ryan J. Brown, if you want
your child to get involved.
SECONDARY CO-CURRICULAR
A s part of the structured co-curricular program in the secondary school, Mr. Ryan and his team will be offering a club for a
Musical Production. Singing, acting, dancing, and playing instruments can all be expected as we gear up to deliver a show
for families and the VISS community.
NEWSLETTER 11
MINISTRY SUBJECTS AND LANGUAGES FACULTY
I am very pleased to welcome VISS students and families to the new academic year.
It is my pleasure to announce some structural changes to the Ministry Subjects’ faculty this academic year 2022-23. In Primary
School, Mr. Emad is the Ministry Subjects’ Coordinator. For Secondary School, there are two Coordinators: Ms. Hanadi Arabic and
Islamic Coordinator and Ms. Jihane Social Studies and Moral Education Coordinator.
On a different note, last week, Sharjah TV visited our school and they have interviewed some students and teachers in both primary
and secondary school. This was part of “Good morning Sharjah” TV program. Please find the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-6476M6JoQ
Ms Saadia Abkari
Director of Ministry subjects and Languages
NEWSLETTER 12
WELLBEING – PRIMARY SCHOOL
T he first two weeks of school has seen students collaborating and connecting with the school
values. They have worked with their class to develop a deeper understanding of how these shared
values underpin our expected actions and behaviours. Alongside this, students have been focusing
on developing strong routines, rigour and relationships in the classroom and other school spaces.
Looking forward, a key focus is on supporting students to be proactive, resilient and not averse to
taking risks with their learning.
Beginning in Week 4, the wellbeing focus is on student leadership. Students will learn about the traits
of effective leaders and how they can demonstrate these in the classroom in their daily learning.
In addition, students in the upper primary will have the chance to apply for one of our formal
leadership opportunities, the Student Representative Council and House Representatives.
Mr James Ritchie
More information about these important roles will be shared at the end of Week 3.
Assistant Head
Wellbeing and Operations Mr James Ritchie
Assistant Head: Wellbeing and Operations
ACADEMIC – PRIMARY
T here has been a great energy around the Primary School as students reacquaint themselves
with old friends, make new friends and meet new teachers.
This week, Grade 1 - 5 students will begin their first Science unit of the year. Be ready to have
discussions with your child around topics such as ‘how light affects our lives’, ‘how we use our
senses to investigate the world’ or ‘how can we change matter to help us’.
Prep students will continue to learn more about what it means to be a Prep student. They will
familiarise themselves with key people in the school, the school environment and the routines of
their learning space.
Student Reading Journals have now been distributed to students. Reading not only increases
vocabulary and knowledge of the world, it is also a great aid in helping get to sleep. So encourage
Ms Linda Rippingille your child to put the screens away and curl up with a book when they get into bed. Our goal is for
Assistant Head 200 nights of reading but we know from last year that many go beyond that!
Teaching and Learning
Ms Linda Rippingille
Assistant Head:Teaching and Learning
PRIMARY LIBRARY
I t has been wonderful to see students returning to the library to borrow, read and listen
to stories. Students visit the library every 2 weeks with their class but they are also
welcome to read in the library at break times and exchange their library books at any
time.
SECONDARY LIBRARY
W e are very happy to welcome VISS Secondary School students back to the library
for the new academic year. We are excited to continue supporting our students
through reading programs, dedicated study spaces and development of research skills this year.
We encourage students of all ages to visit the library to study, borrow or exchange their books or browse our new arrivals at break
times.
Ms Linda Rippingille
Assistant Head:Teaching and Learning
NEWSLETTER 13
WELCOME TO ELC SEPTEMBER 2022
W arm welcome to our new, existing and past ELC families. The start of this academic year
has been special in more than one way. We welcomed our young learners in their newly
designed uniform into a refurbished ELC for a full week of orientation where parents stayed and
played. These sessions were aimed at building partnership with families and helped our students,
teachers and parents to initiate warm, trusting and respectful relationships.
The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework underpins everything we do in
ELC at VISS. Our framework recognises that children’s families are their first and most important
educators. By working together with the teachers, families enhance their child’s learning and
wellbeing. At ELC, we strive to create a learning program that builds on your child’s interest and
Ms Reshma Kudrolli
abilities and keep you in touch with your child’s progress.
Director of ELC
The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework also recognises that every child will achieve their potential in
different ways, at different rates and at different times. When children feel emotionally secure, they learn through play to develop
the skills and understanding they need to interact positively with others and gradually learn to take responsibilities. Play is one of
the foundations of our framework and at ELC we guide your child’s play by carefully designing learning activities and stimulating
indoor and outdoor environments.
Ms Reshma Kudrolli
Director of ELC
NEWSLETTER 14
FROM THE MEDICAL CENTRE
On behave of VISS clinic team, we would like to welcome our students and their parents to the new academic year 2022/2023.
Our school health services program is dedicated to create a culture of wellness that support students success with keeping the
health precautions under the umbrella of ministry of health and Sharjah Private Education Authority instructions.
The School clinic duty is to ensure the students are comfortableand feeling safe inside the school by building trusting relationship
between them and the clinic team. Moreover, the school clinic has the following responsibilities:
①Each year, all school students are required to undergo vision, height, and weight screening by our school clinic team.
②If allowed by the Covid instruction this year, students who we suspect have any hearing difficulties will be checked by an
external private company during the school day.
③Students in grades PREKG, KG, GRAD1, GRADE 5 and GRADE 9 will undergo a physical examination including general health
examination and psychiatric and mental evaluation which will be done by the clinic physician. If needed, a referral letter will
be sent home with the students to allow the parents/guardian to get proper follow up and further assessment. Please return
the referral with the final assessment by the specialist.
④Different year groups will get vaccination as required by the Health Authority. Parents’ consent is required, and a letter will
be sent for approval and signature. Please note that the Health Authority requires a written reason for vaccination refusal.
The vaccination plan as following:
● Grade 1
1st SET:
i. DTaP IPV + OPV (Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis, injectable Polio vaccine and Oral Polio vaccine).
ii. MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine, for those who needs a second dose.
2nd SET
i. VARCELLA (Chickenpox) 2nd dose, after one month.
● Grade 8 and 9. local girls
1st dose Cervical Cancer vaccine
2nd dose Cervical Cancer vaccine, after 6 to 12 months.
● Grade 11
dTap ((Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis) and Meningococcal vaccine
⑤The VISS clinic team follows any students who have a serious medical condition and their progress and follow up with their
parents and their physician.
⑥The VISS clinic team have processes in place when encountering any communicable disease. The team is trained to isolate
the patient, inform the preventive medicine and to follow the close contact if any.
⑦The VISS clinic team will follow and treat any acute and emergency cases which arise in the school day.
⑧Part of the healthy remits of the school clinic team is to follow up daily on the canteen food and cleanliness.
⑨The VISS clinic team are keen to ensure continuous health education for the students and the staff.
Our utmost priority is to ensure that our students can be healthy to the best of their ability, as will indeed affect their successful
performance and for the students to feel that the school is a safe second home.
Dr Thana Issa
VISS school Family medicine doctor
NEWSLETTER 15
A HEALTHY LUNCHBOX AT VISS Dates for your Diary:
NEWSLETTER 16 • @T)P?,&D)ATAB)8)AR)UH'")ATAB